


Let the Rain Wash it All Away

by Caedmon



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Prompt Fill, Timepetalsprompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 19:57:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6920884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caedmon/pseuds/Caedmon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and the Doctor have a fight, and he feels terrible. How can he make it better?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let the Rain Wash it All Away

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ksue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ksue/gifts).



> This one-shot serves the dual purpose of fulfilling the TimePetalsPrompts drabble prompt (although its waaay long for a drabble) 'Anger', and it's also the prize that Ksue won in my ficstravaganza giveaway! She asked for Nine/Rose - rain. 
> 
> Here you go, dear! I hope you like it! 
> 
> As a reminder:  
> I own nothing but the mistakes.  
> Tenroseforeverandever is the best beta of all time, and she whipped this fic into shape. With a chair and bullwhip. It needed it.  
> Kudos and comments keep the muse fat and sassy.  
> Come talk to me! caedmonfaith.tumblr.com

The doors to the TARDIS flew open, slamming against the wall. Rose Tyler stormed aboard, wet and dripping, her fists balled at her sides, her clacking heels echoing her anger as she stomped past the console towards her room. 

The TARDIS door rebounded from the wall, nearly hitting the Doctor in the face as it banged closed. He slapped the door back open and followed Rose in long strides. He was just as wet as his companion, his shoulders hunched in his jacket, the black leather barely restraining the taut anger that coiled there. His fists, like Rose’s, were balled up, his arms ramrod straight. “Rose,” he barked, his voice was part growl, part command.

“Go to hell, Doctor!” Rose tossed the resentful words over her shoulder without looking back.

“Rose! Get back here! _Now_!”

“Fuck off! I will _not!_ You don’t own me!” she snapped. 

Teeth bared, the Doctor’s fists came to hip level, his knuckles whitening when she threw off the elegant red shawl and tossed it to the ground as she stormed off. 

The door to the TARDIS opened a little more slowly this time, and Jack stepped inside gingerly, folding the umbrella that he’d been trying to shield Rose with earlier. He set it against the coat stand, looking around the room, assessing the level of tension and whether or not he wanted to risk his neck. “Doc?”

The Doctor didn’t answer, just stared down the hall. 

From down the corridor, in the vicinity of Rose’s room, a door slammed. Hard. The Doctor spun around to face the console, growling, leaning on his hands and bowing his head. 

Jack studied the Doctor as he took deep, long breaths. After a moment he ventured a step closer. “Doctor…”

It was apparently the wrong thing to do. The Doctor roared and punched the console twice, then cursed loudly, kicking it once. He brought his fists to his eyes and threw his head back like he were beseeching some god, unseeing and groaning, turning a wobbly circle. 

“Stupid. Stupid. All of it, stupid.”

Jack stepped forward, his hands out, ready to take a punch. “Doc, let’s go get you a drink.”

The Doctor dropped his hands. “No. Got to get off this planet.” 

Jack kept his distance as the Doctor began the dematerialization sequence, his dance around the console lacking all of its usual panache. The Time Lord was simply going through the motions. Jack worried for a moment that the TARDIS might throw them somewhere... _unpleasant_ in retaliation for the insult and injury to her console. But she seemed to forgive the Doctor his temper tantrum, and they slid smoothly into the Vortex.

Jack eyed the Doctor once the ship had settled: although he was still livid after his outburst, he seemed to have regained control of his emotions. 

“You wanna tell me about it?” Jack asked cautiously. 

“No. Go the hell away.”

Jack raised his hands in capitulation and strode off down the hall to find Rose.

~*~O~*~

Jack found Rose’s room with little difficulty - not something he had always been able to do, but he suspected that the TARDIS or the Doctor had played a hand in that. 

He stood outside the door with his hand poised to knock, deciding at the last minute that maybe he shouldn’t...then he heard a muffled sob. No, that wasn’t okay. Rose shouldn’t cry, especially not alone. He knocked.

“Go away, Doctor!”

“I’m not the Doctor.” 

He heard her stamping to the door, and suddenly it flew open, revealing a red-eyed, dressing-gowned Rose Tyler. She looked at him with flashing eyes for a minute, then her face crumpled and she began to cry again. 

“Oh, Rosie,” Jack moaned, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. She leaned forward, trusting he would be there. She rested the top of her head against his chest and he enfolded her in his arms while she cried. “Tell me what happened.”

“He doesn’t love me, Jack. He’ll never love me.”

“Of course he does, sweetheart.”

“No. I’ve tried and tried. Ever since you and I talked a few weeks ago... Remember? Just after you came on board?" Jack nodded. 

"I've been tryin' real hard. Been really obvious, yeah, but he just doesn't notice... or care, more like” 

“Maybe he -”

“Don’t you defend him to me!” Rose burst into new sobs and Jack pulled her over to sit on her bed. She fell over into his chest again and he murmured comfort to her.

“Rose, hon, the Doctor loves you. I’d bet any amount of money that he does.”

“Even if he does, it’s obvious I’m not good enough for him.”

“Rosie-”

“No, it’s _true!_ He’s called humans ‘stupid apes’ since I’ve known him. He called me one once. But I didn’t think...I thought maybe…” She broke off into another sob. “I’m not good enough. I’m just some stupid shop girl from the Estate, yeah?”

“Don’t think that about yourself, Rose. You’re so much more than that,” Jack admonished.

Rose ignored him. “But the queen of Cotwa, _she’s_ more the Doctor’s caliber. She’s everything I’m not.” She snuffled. “And I’m trying to accept that, yeah? Because he’s always flirted. He flirted with a journalist a few months ago, Cathica, her name was, and when I first met him he flirted with a tree. A tree, Jack!” 

Her shoulders shook with the memory

Jack sighed. _Oh, Doc, you idiot,_ he thought. _You’re fucking up so badly, and have no idea._

~*~O~*~

The Doctor was waiting by Rose’s door when Jack came out hours later, slumped against the wall across the corridor. He looked like hell and his head was bowed, as if the weight of his sorrow was pulling it towards the ground. Rose’s red shawl was gripped in his hand, and he seemed to be staring at it.

“I want to see her.”

“She’s asleep,” Jack told him. “You need to leave her be for a while.”

“I just want to talk to her, to explain…”

“And you should. But right now, she needs to sleep. You can talk to her in the morning.”

“I’ll never be good enough, Jack. No matter what, I’ll never be good enough. If I lived for a million years, I could never be what she needs. What she deserves.”

The Doctor leaned his forehead against her door and closed his eyes, the shawl hanging loosely from his hand.

Jack was hesitant to touch the temperamental Time Lord, and resisted the urge to put a hand on his shoulder. He took a step closer, anyway. “Doctor,” he started, hoping that by some miracle, he’d say the right thing, “the only thing she needs is you. Rose loves you.”

“No she doesn’t,” he snapped, and raised his head. His eyes were red, and Jack wondered if he’d been crying or just needed sleep. “How could she ever? Look what I did to her!”

“What exactly _did_ you do, Doc?”

“I made her cry.”

“I know that. I meant, what did you do to make her cry?”

“The queen of Cotwa. She...she fancied me. And I knew that Rose would never love me, could never love me, so I thought, why the hell not?”

“Normally I’d be proud, but you really shouldn't have, Doctor,” Jack admonished lightly. 

“I know that now,” he spat, bowing his head against the door again, raising his hand to rest against the wood. “The queen asked me out onto the terrace, so I went. It started raining, and I tried to go back inside. The queen was laughing and dancing in the rain, and pulled me to her, asking me to dance. So of course I did. Didn’t think anything of it, me. A dance with the queen? Why not? I never thought Rose would care, to be honest. But she’d come out onto the terrace to find me, and when she saw me dancing with _her_ ... Rose’s face...her _face_ , Jack. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes. Then she turned and ran back home. I followed her.”

“She did care, and she’s hurt.”

“Tell me how to fix this, Jack," he beseeched. "Tell me what to do.”

Jack did put his hand on the Doctor’s shoulder then. “C’mon. Let’s go to the library and get a drink while we talk. You could use a drink.”

“I don’t need a drink. I need _her_. I can’t stand when she’s angry with me.” He shook his head a little, like he was trying to shake away some unpleasant thought. “I’ve gotta _fix_ this. You have to tell me how.”

“C’mon,” Jack urged, draping his arm over the Doctor’s shoulder, “you’ve come to the right place.”

~*~O~*~

Rose woke the next morning to flowers. Vases of flowers rested on every surface, in every color. She sat up, looking around the room and wondering just what the TARDIS was playing at. 

A note was propped beside the Upsilonian wildflowers on her nightstand, and she opened it. 

_’I know you probably don’t want to see me, but I need to talk to you. Please come to the garden when you wake up. Love, the Doctor._

No, Rose did _not_ want to see him. Not like this. She went to her ensuite and turned on the water as hot as she could stand it, waiting until she was under the warm spray to let her tears fall like rain. 

Several hours later, when she’d turned herself into a prune in the shower and was sure she’d cried herself dry, she dressed in her favorite hoodie-and-jeans combo and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She felt elegant and beautiful when she and the Doctor dressed up to go out to balls or galas, but it was like playing dress-up. He was so impressive, and she wanted so much to impress him in turn. She’d thought that if she wore elegant clothes, if she pretended to be something she was not, he may notice her. After all, he’d told her she was beautiful that Christmas in Cardiff, right? And she’d been dressed up then. But lightning hadn’t struck twice. He just didn’t see her that way. So why try? She put on her hoodie and jeans. Comfort clothes.

Grabbing a couple of tissues to stuff in the pocket of her hoodie - just in case - she started down the hall to the garden.

Rose opened the door and was struck, as always, by the beauty of this room. Flowers from all over the universe bloomed everywhere, and she looked around with no small amount of wonder. The TARDIS provided sunlight and it glinted from the water droplets clinging to leaves and flower petals.

“Rose?”

She heard the Doctor’s voice from a little ways away and closed her eyes. She really didn’t want to hear what he had to say, but she knew she would have to face him eventually. Best to get on with it. Straightening her shoulders and refusing to cry again, she stepped inside and closed the door. 

He stood a few yards away in a clearing and she walked towards him apprehensively. When she was a few feet away, just out of his reach, she stopped. His face looked like an apology, and she crossed her arms over her belly, looking down, not wanting to see it. 

“I’m sorry, Rose.”

She shook her head and blinked back the tears that had sprung up with his words. “S’fine, Doctor. M’fine.”

“You’re not fine. I made you cry.”

Rose didn’t answer him, and her eyes blurred then cleared when twin tears splashed down onto her forearm.

“Rose, will you look at me?”

“No.”

“Please?”

She closed her eyes for a moment, then raised her head to look at him. The breeze caused by the motion of her movement cooled the trails on her cheeks. He looked worn, more weary than she’d ever seen him. In that moment, with his blue eyes looking at her, probing her, she shivered. 

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have danced with her.”

“S’fine, I said.”

“Rose…” He took a couple of steps towards her and she looked away. Undeterred, he put his hands on her elbows. “It didn’t mean anything,” he told her, quietly. 

“It meant something to _me_ ,” she mumbled. “When we danced that night. It meant something to _me_. I thought it meant something to you, too.”

“It meant...it meant everything.” She still didn’t look at him as two more tears fell. “What can I do, Rose? How can I prove to you what you mean to me?”

“There’s nothing to do, Doctor,” she said. 

“Isn’t there?”

There was a rumble overhead, and Rose looked up. The sun had been obscured by clouds, and she felt drops of rain on her face. 

“Rose,” he whispered, letting go of her elbows and reaching for her wrists. He pulled them up, up, up around his neck, depositing them there, then brought his own hands down to her waist, sliding them around to her back. “Dance with me.”

“I don’t want to,” she protested, but she didn’t lower her arms and took a grudging step forward when he pulled her closer. 

Slow, soft music surrounded them and Rose let him sway her on the spot. 

_I can hear her heartbeat from a thousand miles_  
_Yeah, the heavens open every time she smiles_

“Do you know why I danced with her?” Rose shook her head, and he went on. “I didn’t think you wanted to.”

“I wanted to,” Rose whispered. “I had hoped you would dance with me last night. I had hoped I was enough for you, pretty enough, clever enough-”

“You’re more than enough, Rose,” he told her. “You’re _everything_ ”

_Take away my trouble, take away my grief_  
_Take away my heartache in the night like a thief_

“It just looked like such a romantic moment. I wanted to share it with you,” she whispered, barely audible over the music. “It was the kind of moment I’ve dreamed of for months, but didn’t think you would want. Not with… someone like me.”

“I _do_ want, Rose Tyler. I want you so much it terrifies me.”

She looked up into his eyes then, hoping to gauge his sincerity, and his blue eyes were tender, soft. Rose had seen the same look from him when he thought she wasn’t looking. She wondered now if that look had always meant what she thought it might, hoped it might. 

“I love you, Rose.” His voice was soft but deep, infused with honesty. She watched a drop of water run down the side of his cheek, and was startled when she saw it had come from the corner of his eye and not the rain falling on them. “You healed me. You made my life, this mad life, bearable. Not just bearable, _fantastic_.”

_And when I’m returning from so far away_  
_She gives me sweet lovin’ to brighten up my day_  
_Yes it makes me righteous, yes it makes me whole_  
_Yes it makes me mellow down to my soul_

Rose opened her mouth to speak, but he shushed her. “You don’t have to say anything, precious girl. You don’t have to say a word. Just...just let me love you. That’s all I need.”

The Doctor bent then, lowering his mouth to hers. His lips were softer than she’d expected, and warmer. They slid against hers with a tenderness that surprised her and left her feeling weak. He nibbled at her lower lip and she parted her lips, making a little whimpering sound when his tongue entered her mouth, dancing with hers to the same rhythm of their swaying bodies. The kiss was sensual and loving, saying more than words ever could - from either of them. 

He planted soft little kisses on her lips, her cheeks, her eyelids, then pressed his forehead to hers. “Will you, Rose? Will you let me love you?”

She felt the warmth of her tears coursing down her cheeks alongside the cool of the rain. “But don’t you understand? I’ve loved you for months. Since ‘there’s me’.”

“But, how could you?” 

She smiled up at him, taking in the rain sluicing down his face, the worried frown, the desperate hope in his eyes. “How could I not?”

**Author's Note:**

> The song the Doctor and Rose danced to is [Crazy Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOpatZKRq94) by Van Morrison


End file.
